The Great Ideas

by Suzanne Cleminshaw

The Monroes' house has been abandoned for as long as Haddie can remember. Before she was born, her sister's dead body was found on the flagstone path beneath the balcony at the back, and no one is sure how she fell. As in the House of Atreus that Haddie reads about in the encyclopedia, this tragic event will have repercussions which effect all the characters in this strange story: the enigmatic bachelor who comes to live in the Monroes' house and has a mysterious past; Mrs Lewis, Haddie's Charm School teacher, who is increasingly attracted to this intriguing stranger; her son, Louis Lewis, a practising existentialist, who believes there's no such thing as a lie; and of course Haddie herself, searching for a meaning to her life in the shadow of the death of her sister.

Haddie's attempts to figure out the clues to this mystery takes the form of an epistemological search.

She trawls the encyclopaedia, thinks about tragic fate, reads Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas. She worries about Christian doctrines of original sin. And woven into her quest is an abundance of serendipitous details: about fortune telling, floating paper boats, what it feels like to forget; how to yawn with your mouth closed, flirt, levitate and charm a snake.

The Great Ideas is a gripping mystery like no other, a story which can dipped into through its index. It is an etiquette guide, a 'how-to' book, a survey of classical philosophy, a tour of the A-section of the encyclopedia, a comedy of manners. As it arcs towards its tragic climax and the dark secret of Haddie's family is revealed, its mixture of curiosity and knowledge will delight anyone with an enquiring mind.

Genres: Fiction, Philosophy

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Rebecca Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So quotable and brilliant. Ending was crazy thoooo I’m not a fan but it was so good. Intricate picture of complexity of character and good and bad

[Mady · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a girl who was named after her sister, who died, in misterious circumstances, a few months before she was born. Now that the girl is as old as her sister when she died, she gets obsessed about her death and tries to find out what happened. Actually, I found it a bit boring as the story is short but is made long without much happening. Besides, I didn't get interested in the "mystery"...

[Airlia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dad thought this book was genius admired the tremendous knowledge and imagination of the author, and I can see why, but for me it was hard work and some of the subject matter unpalatable. Sometimes it came off as the author so the character of Haddie was less believable, also the lists and paragraphs about greek philosophy got on my nerves. I appreciate this is what others might like about it

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A standard little mystery, enlivened with the precocious main character's studies of philosophy, history, and the Encyclopedia, which add little asides, some background, and essential framing for the otherwise rather rambling (by design, assuredly) central narrative. Too obtuse for some, but delightful for those prepared to put in the effort.

[Katie Straw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I feel like that was a waste of my time, waited until literally the last 4 pages for the climax. I guess it would be fine if you liked philosophy and character driven novels but not for me, kinda wish I never bothered 😅

[Swechha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could have been better I guess

[Dirk Hennebel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many loose threads, most of which drop dead. The comparison with Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder in TLS is not at all justified.

[엠마 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected finding from a local charity shop. Unconventional, straight-up weird and disturbing at times. But its prose swallowed me in within seconds.

[Norah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book on philosophy seen through the mind of a child/teenager, but with a dark story emerging as I read. It is slow-moving to start, with lots of rich descriptive passages and musings about the philosophers she knows about. She seems to have more general knowledge than most teenagers, and I feel it is more the voice of the writer. Towards the end, the pace increases, and the story concludes. Well worth persevering with.

[Komal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another indistinguishable stream-of-consciousness novel in the great frothing mass of contemporary fiction. Really, I don't know why every other person has to write in a jumble of confused similes and retarded flashbacks and fill the novel with "deep" characters who do stupid deep things like think about colours and blood and vertigo. Terrible.

[Karoline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book a lot because it just appealed to me how it was written, I felt the characters came alive and I thought a great many sentences were wonderful. I'll probably have more comments later on.

[Alie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great present from a lovely friend, anyone wanting to dip their toes into philosophy will enjoy this.